5/14/15
Beaufort SC, ICW
Position: 32 25.775N, 080 40.595W
Posted by Bill
Yesterday we started at the butt crack of dawn yet again. We pushed off the dock at 6:30 in the morning, pushing to make a 7:00 bridge opening around 3 miles away. We had to make it to our last shoal area for the day, Fields Cut, by at least mid-tide, and if we missed the bridge opening at 7 we would be waiting for high tide again late in the day, and it would put us a day behind.
We made it to the bridge with minutes to spare, and then made Fields Cut with plenty of water beneath the keel…thank goodness. We got the latest local knowledge from Boat US about transiting Fields Cut, and they told us to ignore the nautical charts (maps) and navigate the visual center of the channel, then hug the last buoy. I was in the lead as the other 2 boats we are traveling with, Byrd Ketcher and Sofia Jeanne, followed. I was so intent on following the visual center, as well as making notes about the depth so I could report the conditions for others benefit, that when I came to the last red buoy I went left of it. Since we are traveling north, red buoys are supposed to be left to port (pass them on the right). Matt on Sofia Jeanne calls me on the radio as I approached the buoy and says “Hey Bill, isn’t that a red buoy you are coming close to?” I say “Yes, I think it is the one we need to pass close to.” He says “Aren’t you supposed to be to the right of it?” As I pass the buoy on the wrong side I say “Why yes, I should be!” I held my breath as I watched the depth sounder drop to 1 foot below our keel! Thank goodness we made good time and had some tide under us!!! Even licensed captains can make stupid mistakes, and that one could have cost us precious time while we waited for the tide to rise or a tow boat to pull us off. Ass Captain of the day! See…I told you I would be the recipient of most of those…lol.
We cruised past Dufauski Island and into Calibouge Sound next to Hilton Head Island. It is a pretty part of the trip. Since we had the space of the sound to traverse, I re-calibrated the auto pilot and it seems to be working again…check…another one off the list (fingers crossed).
Hope Town light house at Hilton Head:
We took a mooring ball at the downtown Beaufort docks and did some bar hopping along the waterfront. Last year we docked at Port Royal Landing which was several miles from downtown Beaufort, so we didn’t spend a whole lot of time downtown. This time we are checking it all out from the downtown area. Today we had a great breakfast at Blackstone’s, hit some more waterfront bars, and then had happy hour at Emily’s. Emily’s was really good and a good value. Check it out if you come here.
The winds kicked up in the afternoon and kicked our ass in the mooring field. Despite that it was a good day.
Pics of Beaufort from the mooring:
